EX Mission: A Midsummer's Nightmare Dream Vacation

Lake in the woods
- Vayu -

Vayu bit his lip when he realized that Zephyr heard him across nearly the entire lake. Shaking it off, he decided to focus on the game at hand, which grew more heated by the second.

Before they knew it, spells were flying left and right.

Bastion sent the ball rocketing towards him. A smile played around Vayu’s lips.

“Synchro Gift,” he cast on himself and with increased speed and reflexes, he managed to hit the volleyball. It flew high up, slowing considerably. Vayu turned around towards Samael.

“Go for it!” he called. “Synchro Gift!” he cast the acceleration spell at Samael to ensure he had ample time and power to his the ball.

Samael

"God damn it, I'm not the brute force type, and why are we using spells?!" Samael shouted lightly, as he began to quickly back up aiming himself at strange arc, holding his hands up towards the ball like some sort of movie producer until the ball lined up perfectly in the middle of the opening between his two hands.  

"Like threading a needle?" Samael muttered in a confused tone, as he placed his hand on the ground a spectral like horse rising out of the water like some sort of fallen ghost from the past as Samael began to rise up standing on top of the ghastly horse, "Spectral steed!"

"Fire!" Samael stated in a commanding force like a general on the battlefield, as he used the horse to get himself footing and jumped off it quickly flying next to the ball, as he slammed his hand down in the center of the court.  The increased spur of strength he got from his spell sent the ball rocketing towards the ground... However.

Well hopefully that was a good enough shot! because the effects of unlatching from the tendrils of the steed hit him as slammed in the water below with a large splash being generated in response to the sudden belly flop.

- Cleo -

It had taken a little longer than expected, but as he had predicted, the spells were now flying back and forth on both sides of the net. Still, it wouldn't actually be a Vanguard game if that wasn't the case. So, it's not like this development was surprising.

As Vayu set the ball for Samael, Cleo moved to get into position for a return, but his efforts were wasted. With a smug look on her face, Silky raised one arm over her head, and an Ice Wall erupted from beneath the water, just on their side of the net.

Encountering the solid object, the ball bounced right back towards the Cocktail Crew while Silky waved her arms over her head and twisted her hips in a potentially premature victory dance.

The Cocktail Crew gasped in surprise at the latest twist in this out of control game.

"An ice wall?" Komori sputtered.

"That can't be allowed!" Nena screeched.

Scarlet merely stood by, looking dazed by all the blatant, catastrophic rule-breaking.

Well, the ref was no good. Komori had to take things into his own hands. As the ball bounced back, he turned to Nena and Rory. "Set up the ball for me to spike. I've got this."

Unsure what to expect, they simply nodded as the ball came back toward them. Komori rushed the net, then leaped into the air through the strength of his legs alone and swung back his fist with a mighty bellow. His punch hit the ice and shattered it into pieces, just as the girls hit the ball back up toward the net. Twisting as he fell back toward the water, he smacked the ball with a powerful strike and sent it hurtling toward Aeris.

Eyes wide, she swore and stepped back, raising her arms as the ball surged toward her. She more defended against the ball than returned it, skidding back and nearly losing balance as it pushed off her and into the air, still on Aeris' Armada's side.

"Someone!" she called, regaining her footing and hurrying to assist.

Zephyr Arc - Lake

Unsurprisingly, pandemonium soon erupted on the field as people began sending spells flying left and right. He wasn't complaining though, things were definitely much more fun this way.

In a big move, Cleo's Silky put up an ice wall to shut out their competition, but it seemed Komori had an answer to that as he easily shaterred it and sent the ball hurtling dangerously fast at Aeris. She barely managed to stop it, but the ball ended up in free fall on their side of the field.

Zephyr grinned, his arm having extended to receive the ball. If spell slinging wasn't an issue, he had no real reason not to do it himself. Not yet using his buffs, Zephyr sent the ball arcing over the net... now the size of a baseball and still shrinking. Cherry could only shake her head as she held a hand over her face.

Thanks to Zephyr’s spell, the volleyball continued to shrink as it sailed over the net, becoming harder and harder to see. Rory raced forward, swatting at it just as it reached the size of a grape. Instead of hitting it over the net, however, she struck it right through one of the holes in the net.

Aeris’ Armada gasped and lunged forward as the barely visible ball fell to the water.

“Zephyr, undo it!” Bastion ordered. The ball returned to normal size just as Bastion dove beneath it and smacked it upward, where it arced just over the middle of the net.

“I GOT IT!” Komori and Aeris roared in unison, leaping upward as Zephyr’s spell on the ball continued to make it grow. In unison, they wound back their arms for their finishing spike and smacked the expanding ball at the same time.

BAM.

The ball exploded, showering pieces down as Aeris and Komori plummeted downward. Aeris twisted in midair, landing gracefully on the net, which buckled as Cherry and Mongo attempted to keep it up. Komori landed a second later, a lot less gracefully, and the net gave way. They both plunged into the water, showering everyone, and emerged a moment later.

“That was our point!” the both declared.

“More pieces landed on your side.”

“The ball was over your side when it popped.”

“Well, you brought down the net!”

“You landed on it first!”

Bastion laid back on the water as they argued, staring up at the late afternoon sky. Well, over-the-top as it was, it was pretty fun. And a nice distraction from everything else.

“Ref!” Komori and Aeris yelled, turning to Scarlet. “Who wins?”

Scarlet stared at them all for a moment, as though in a trance. Finally, she raised her hand to the air.

“You both lose.”

“WHAT?!”

The competitive members of both teams swam up, demanding an explanation.

“Both teams broke the rules. So both teams are disqualified. You both lose,” Scarlet declared.

From up on the rock, Mongo chuckled softly to himself, moving his telescope around. “I say they were plenty of winners here today.”

The next moment, he was thrown off the rock and into the water by Nena’s curse spell. As she blew on her finger like an Old World gun, Aeris smirked at her.

“Nice shot.”

“Thank you,” Nena replied stiffly.

Rory giggled and beamed at the group. “Mongo’s right. We all had fun, so I say we’re all winners!”

Komori rubbed her head affectionately and hoisted her onto his shoulder. “If the Queen of Summer Beauty says so, then it must be true!”

Everyone satisfied, the group’s energy began to die along with the setting of the sun. They lounged about in the water, quietly talking and lazily floating about until finally the time came to return. Toweling off and repacking their things, the group reconvened at the edge of the grotto, all contented.

“That was the best vacation ever,” Rory said, leaning against Komori and yawning. “I hope we get to do it again.”

“Me too,” Komori replied, smiling. “I think we all needed that. But now, it’s time to get back.”

“Yeah...” Rory sighed as they headed into the forest.

Komori, deciding to cheer her up, struck up a group conversation. “Why don’t we talk about our favorite part of the trip?’

Rory perked up. “The beauty pageant! It was so fun. And everyone looked so pretty in their outfits.” She turned to Nena. “I think yours was my favorite, Nena.”

Nena blinked, then smiled. “Thank you, Rory.”

“That’s two votes, at least,” Aeris said, smirking. Mongo cackled in the background, then cut himself off abruptly, fearing retaliation.

Nena scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean? You didn’t get any votes, if I recall.”

Aeris shrugged. “Because none of the guys have enough spine to vote their actual preferences. But the truth is, you’re the only one who really cared.”

“I didn’t care,” Nena said, folding her arms.

“How about that waterfall!” Komori interrupted loudly. “So tall and beautiful. Why I expect it was at least-“

“So, that isn’t why you decided to start the cheating during the volleyball match?” Aeris moved on.

“You all kept targeting me!” Nena exploded.

Aeris shrugged. “You were the weak link.”

“Take that back,” Nena snapped.

Aeris laughed. “My apologies. I never realized before this how competitive you are.” He gaze flickered meaningfully from Nena to Komori. “Or are you just competitive about one specific thing that you just didn’t seem to win at today?”

Nena brought up hand and shot a curse spell at Aeris, who nimbly twisted and dodged it, where it smacked into a tree.

“Nena!” Komori chided, but she turned on her heel and strode off into the woods. “But that’s not the way-“

He sighed and shook his head, turning to look at the others. “Wait here. I’ll bring her back.” He shot Aeris a heated look, but she shrugged it off as he strode off into the woods after her.

There was an awkward silence as the group stood in the growing darkness of the woods before Rory looked up at Aeris.

“That wasn’t nice,” she said, her rebuke no less powerful for how soft her voice was. “Why don’t you like Nena? What’s she done to you?”

“If I didn’t like her, I wouldn’t say anything,” Aeris replied, no longer teasing. “If she isn’t willing to be honest with herself, she’s never going to get what she wants.”

Zephyr Arc - Lakeside

With things quickly going out of hand as expected, the ball eventually exploded and, despite Cherry and Mongo's best efforts, the net itself collapsed. Zephyr laughed himself silly when Scarlet broke the news to the two team captains that both teams lost, while Cherry floated beside him arma crossed and shaking her head.

Things began to wind down as dusk came. Zephyr flopped on the ground like a dead fish for a while before hopping up and rushing at Vayu asking when dinner would be. It seemed as if the entire drama that just occured didn't happen as far as he was concerned.

Cherry on the other hand nodded in understanding when Aeris made her comment on the situation. Still at human size thanks to Zephyr recasting his spell, she mused out loud. "Huh, so that was what was up."

Lake in the woods
- Vayu -

After they had finished the heated and out of control game of water volleyball, things calmed down until the sun began to set.

Vayu lazily stood up from where he lay in the grass, watching the light filter through the trees. He packed his bag and followed the others to the edge of the clearing.

Nena and Aeris began to argue, but Vayu decided to tune them out. He wasn’t in the mood for an argument.

Thankfully, Zephyr showed up, asking him what they would have for dinner. It was a welcome distraction.

“Since it’s such a nice day, I think we should have a barbecue,” he replied. “We can sit outside…oh and if we do it up at the barracks, we can probably light a bonfire. That’d be a nice finish for the day, no?”

He looked around to Bastion and Samael to see what they thought.

Nihility ~ The BBQ

Once the water game concluded in a blast and a splash, the tidal waves subsided and Nihility was once again able to relax on calm waters. It was a pleasant rest that eventually came to an end.

Nihility waded out and stopped next to Tyrian who was waiting for her at the bank. She began rummaging through her satchel and picked two of the Maga marbles out of it. She fed one to her Demon Beast and plopped the other into her mouth as she walked over to Vayu and Zephyr as they talked about dinner.

"Well, that's a good option if someone has prepared meat with them, if not, shouldn't we venture around and see if there is any fauna around the area that we can hunt for this Barbecue?"

Nihility glanced towards the path Komori took to chase after Nena as she believed he would have had the answer about there being any animals around as he was the one that led the group to this location. Unfortunately he was out of sight so the only thing left was to search his belongings.

"Maybe Komori brought some meat with him. We could search his stash." She suggested to the other two.

- Cleo -

As the game devolved into chaos around him, Cleo couldn't help but laugh. Between Aeris and Komori arguing over who had won and Scarlet giving neither of them a foot to stand on, the entire situation was just funny. Not to mention Silky was no giving Komori the stink-eye for interrupting her victory dance. Considering her personality, Cleo doubted that she'd be petty enough to seek some kind of revenge, but it was nice to know that she could also show some level of irritation. Actually, this vacation had probably been good for her overall. He'd seen her open up a little around the group, even if she hadn't expressed anything vocally.

His attention, like many of the others', was drawn towards Aeris and Nena's verbal sparring. With Nena stomping off into the woods and Komori following her, Cleo could do little more than shake his head and sigh. Rory's questioning of Aeris brought up something interesting though. Was she actually looking out for the barkeep in her own way? His gaze moved to Aeris as he took this into consideration. She'd always acted aloof around them, but surely she wouldn't be a Vanguard if she didn't want to help people on some level. Cleo had just never questioned her motives until now.

To be honest, he agreed with her on this point. Nena and Komori had been circling one another for quite a while, but neither seemed willing to make a decisive move. Sure, they probably had reasons for that, but neither of them seemed satisfied with the situation, even if they both seemed unwilling to change it.

His mind traveled back to the look on Aeris' face after the diving contest. At some point, he'd need to have a chat with her about that too. He could practically hear the gears turning in her head, even if she hadn't verbalized her thoughts. It would be better to have that conversation away from curious ears though. So, for now, it would have to wait.

Woods - Main Group

Bastion, glad for a distraction from the uncomfortable atmosphere, perked up at Vayu’s suggestion.

“I think a barbecue sounds like a great end to the day,” he agreed, but turned to Nihility. “But I think we should wait for Komori and Nena to return. It’s getting dark, and wandering off doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

They lapsed back into silence - for how long, Bastion wasn’t quite sure. Some of the group began to settle down on their packs, resigned to waiting a while. Aeris remained standing, however, growing more and more impatient.

“Oh, come on. Let’s just go get them already,” she said, striding off in the direction Komori and Nena had left.

“I don’t think-“ Bastion began, but Rory hurried after her, obviously eager to rejoin with the two. Mongo, clinging to a strap on her pack, grinned and stared at Aeris’ long legs as they disappeared into the trees. Scarlet was next to shrug and follow, and One by one, the rest of the group departed.

Bastion, left along, sighed and shook his head before plunging in after them.

————————————

? - ?

High above the treetops, a figure in red hovered, his butterfly-like wings fluttering as they kept him aloft. He surveyed the woods below with keen eyes, his brow furrowed.

“There you are.”

A beautiful woman garbed in green rose up beside him, her shimmering wings beating in rhythm with his.

“You’re missed. Come back to the festivities,” she insisted.

“Humans,” the male said, pointing across the woods below. “In our territory.”

The female frowned. “You worry too much, Oberon. They’re still a ways away.”

“And heading toward us.”

“They might yet turn back,” she suggested.

“And if they don’t?”

She sighed and turned her back on him. “Do what you will, but do it fast, will you?”

Oberon watched his queen descend back into the glad below and smiled mischievously. Humans... such amusing creatures, and so easy to play with. Pulling out a vial, he held it up against the rising moon, watching the contents glint with rose-like effervescence.

There would be no need to dirty his hands or disrupt the festivities when he could just have the humans distract themselves... until it ceased to amuse him.

Uncorking the vial, he swept the contents into the air, then sent it sweeping down into the woods below with a might rush of his wings.

--------------------------------------------------

Woods - Komori and Nena

Nena continued to stomp through the woods, even as her anger began to cool. Stopping now would mean admitting she’d overreacted, and she couldn’t do that. So she blustered onward, if only to distract herself from the moment she would have to face all of this.

“Nena!”

Komori. He was finally catching up, despite her best efforts. At the sound of his voice, her steps slowed until he finally emerged into the clearing. “Whew, you’re faster than I thought.”

Nena folded her arms and looked away. “I am a demon, you know. I can at least do that much.”

Komori scratched at his beard. “Right. Well... listen, I know Aeris can be pretty abrasive, but-“

“It doesn’t matter.” Nena stiffened up. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, or you wouldn’t be out here like this.” He touched her arm gently, turning her back toward him. “Whatever’s going on, you can tell me.”

Nena bit her lip. “Even if it’s about you?”

Komori blinked, but then smiled. “Especially if it’s about me. That means I can actually do something about it.”

“I’m not sure you can. It’s not that simple.”

“Okay.” Komori nodded, patient and understanding. “So let’s try to break it down into something more simple. What happened today specifically to upset you?”

Nena blushed and averted her eyes. “It’s... nothing. It’s stupid really.”

“It’s not.”

She looked into his eyes and knew nothing she said would be trivial or irrelevant to him. Swallowing, she finally forced the words out. “I wanted your vote.”

“My...” He cocked his head. “You mean the pageant?”

“Yes!” Now she was both embarrassed and annoyed at how dense he was being. “When you invited me on this trip, I thought... I thought you really wanted me to be here. But you barely spent any time with me, and then I got this swimsuit hoping you would like it, and you didn’t even vote for me! I wasn’t even sure you noticed at all.”

Komori’s eyes widened. “Nena... I...”

She turned away from him, shivering as a wind swept over them. “It doesn’t matter.” She hastily wiped at her eyes. “You’re a human. I’m a demon, no matter how much I may act otherwise. Nothing good could ever come of us... together.” She sniffed, inhaling at the sickly sweet air. “I know that, and yet, it still hurts because-“

“I LOVE YOU.”

Nena choked, turning around to face Komori. “W-what?”

She stared into his eyes, at the pupils which had been blown wide, and the dreamy expression that hung on his face. She sniffed at the sweet air again, then stiffened.

Oh no. Had she been so distracted that she missed it?

“We need to get back to the others,” she told him, grabbing his arm. “If we hurry-“

She squeaked as Komori suddenly swept her off her feet into his strong arms, cradling her like a bride going over the threshold. He grinned down at her, face mere inches from her own.

“Nena, my demonic little dove, I won't have you spoiling those lovely feet of yours with all this walking! Come, I shall carry you all the way back to Chaldea, as befitting a delicate flower such as yourself."

Delicate flower? Oh, this was worse than she thought.

“Komori-“

“Back we go then, my darling!” he shouted, dashing back into the woods toward the others.

--------------------------------------------------

Woods - Main Group

“We’re definitely lost,” Bastion sighed.

“Not helping,” Aeris snapped. “You see anything?”

She called up the Cherry, who had volunteered to fly above the tree line and scout things out for them.

“I think I see- oh!”

Everyone looked up at the surprise in her voice. “What’s wrong? What-“

Before they could find out, a breeze swept through the clearing. The air had a sickly sweet scent to it and tickled their noses, like fizz from a bubbly drink. Bastion rubbed at his nose, staving off a sneeze, and turned to ask Samael what had happened.

When he came face to face with Monet.

“M-Monet?” he gasped.

Something felt... strange. Everything began to take on a dreamy, misty sort of look except Monet. She was more clear and real than anything around him, even though she had an ethereal shimmer to her. His heart began to beat wildly as he stared at her entranced.

“Monet! It really is you. I’m sorry I didn’t invite you!” he blurted out. “I wanted to, but I was worried you might not like the others, or that you'd like them too much, or that they'd like you too much. It was selfish. Forgive me!”

He dropped to one knee, taking hold of her hand and pressing his forehead to it. After a moment, he jumped to his face, beaming at her.

“But you're here now! And as a sign of my remorse and deepest affection, I shall compose a poem just for you! ...umm, give me a moment, will you?"

He ran and ducked behind a tree, heart beating impossibly fast. A poem, a poem... come on, he could do this. The words would flow from the depths of this thundering heart! And then she would know the depths of his feelings!

Zephyr Arc - Forest

Everyone quickly got on-board with the idea of a barbecue, and Zephyr quickly pulled out one of his packs, which he'd filled with various meats. He'd heard barbeques were a staple for vacations so he came prepared.

Bastion then suggested waiting for Komori and Nena to return, which was understandable. They waited for a good while before people eventually lost their patience and decided to go hunting for them instead. Zephyr quickly followed after Rory. "Cherry, could you scout from the air? The trees are just sparse enough to see the ground from above." He told the pixie, which prompted her to take flight.

The rest of the group quickly joined up and they began scouring the forest for Komori and Nena when Cherry spotted something. Before she could warn the group, and strange mist covered the area below the treeline. Zephyr, perhaps the man most used to mental ailments in the entire world, realised something was terribly wrong as he fell under the influence.

Suddenly Nihility looked like the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. He felt like he could do anything for her... but at the same time, something in the back of his head was screaming that this wasn't right- but it had to be, right? He held his head as he fought himself for a while before an eerily angelic smile settled on his face and he approached Nihility.

Cherry the Pixie | above the treeline

Cherry watches from above. She would normally use her spell to try and get the others to snap out of it, but with the mist still strong, she'd likely just get herself affected by whatever it was as well, and even if removed the ailment, the mist would likely reapply it immediately anyway.

Sighing, she instead looked towards the source. Clearly, she needed to cut off the flow there.

Forest
- Vayu -

Before they could start planning the barbecue, they decided to go after Komori and Nena, who still hadn’t returned.

Vayu followed the group, lagging a few steps behind to make sure they didn’t lose anyone else. The light was slowly dimming down, and it became more difficult to keep in mind what direction Chaldea was, especially since following Nena’s and Komori’s footprints meant they weren’t exactly going in a straight line.

Bastion and Aeris finally stopped, when suddenly a breeze swept through the air. Vayu inhaled, feeling his nose tickle with the sweet scent. His heart began to beat faster, and he looked around until his eyes settled on Scarlet. It felt like he was looking at her for the first time.

He straightened up and his expression turned soft, much softer than usual. He smiled at her, his eyes locked into hers. “Scarlet,” he breathed and stepped towards her, closing the gap between them. Gently he took her hand and placed it over his heart. “Your fire and your beauty make me feel alive,” he said, “Can you feel it too?”

Nihility ~ The Sweet Sauce

As the group waited for Komori to return with Nena, Tyrian stood next to Nihility. Nihility took out one of the towels she had brought with her and began to dry off by dabbing away at her body.

Eventually the restless party members pushed everyone to search the woods for the missing adults, which no doubt turned into a wild goose chase as the search party itself got lost among the trees.


It seemed like an eternity for Nihility as she dragged her feet along the ground. Her fingertips aimlessly drummed along ontop of her stomach as thoughts of the barbecue party filled her mind. She didn't realize when it happened but she could even smell the sweet barbecue sauce in the air. Nihility ran her tongue over her lips as the person who was walking in-front of her came into a sharper focus and a light purplish aura outlined his figure.

The one person who could always satisfy her was walking at arms length from her. She reached out to grab the shoulder of the man in the Master Chef's garb but then instantly shied away by pulling her arm and holding it back to rest over her chest.

Instead, the infatuated woman began mumbling incoherently to herself. "No no no..." Nihility shook her head. "I don't want to disturb him. I might cause him to break his concentration and his master recipe that he might be thinking about would shatter." Nihility wagged her head with bright eyes. "Yes, yes, I should wait and let the master deliver his best dish ever."


Vayu, shining in a whole new light, walked ahead with a confident stride. Nihility affectionately bit on her lip with dreamy eyes, while imagining the Master Chef presenting her with scrumptious dishes one after the other.


Suddenly, the Master walked over to another girl to hold her hands over his chest and spouted some secret recipe about feeling the meat grilled over a beautiful fire. Nihility's eyes lit up with an eerie purplish hue. "Yes, yesss, is he going to include her in the Barbecue?" Nihility smacked her lips as she stared down the two. "It's all good. The more the merrier as they say." She mused to herself in a low purr.

"Keh-keh-keh".


Tyrian peered at Nihility with a slight worry in his eyes and questioningly spoke her name. "Nihility? Mistress, are you okay?"

Samael

"What?! Who's Monet?" Samael stated with mouth agape, as he felt all the blood rushing to his head at once with him suddenly covering his face and glancing away towards the tree on the other side rushing behind it.

Where did he screw up, was Goki tell him behind his back? Maybe it was Ose, he did glare at him... but why was Bastion writing him a poem? What... as suddenly he felt his face turn red with his twitching like some sort of recruit who had his crush profess his love to him.

I mean, she had made them angel like swim trunks because that's what he was an angel! He even had the whole angelic look going for him?!

"Well Bastion is a charming guy! He'll just have to outdo his poem!" Samael began writing down her own poem for Bastion placing emphasis on the beauty of the fairy forest and the wonderous silk and perfect threads you can craft from such a place of wonder. Ah, maybe they'll see the ruins again after this, it would be quite a romantic spot! A shame she can't paint on the spot! There's no tools here, how could she convey the depths of her feelings!

Something was very wrong.

Cleo blinked at the scene around him, but nothing would properly come into focus. He could hear the others speaking, but it all sounded like white noise on the edge of his consciousness. When had something happened? He fought for the answer, but his brain failed to produce a relevant response. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on the facts, but instead, everything became more unfocused. The only thing he could focus on was the throbbing in his head. Another deep breath, and the throbbing intensified, along with the sensation of sugar settling on his teeth. When had he eaten something sweet?

Finally, an image flashed in his mind. Cleo had been watching the gentle sway of Aeris' hips in between cautious glances into the woods. He'd been alert then. What had changed? His eyes moved to Aeris, who was surprisingly clear amidst the blurry backdrop of everything else.

Mine.

He started to take a step in her direction, only to feel a hand wrap around his arm. Who would dare to stop him? With effort, he turned his eyes towards the offending individual, and Scarlet's features swam into view.

Pretty.

"I think something is wrong with Vayu." She tugged on Cleo's arm, drawing his attention to the fact that Vayu was holding Scarlet's other hand to his heart. "He's acting very unprofessional, and it's scaring me." She almost seemed to huddle into his side in an attempt to pull away from the other man.

Take.

Some of the fog lifted from Cleo's vision, allowing him to take in more of the scene before him. "Is that something you look for in a man, Spitfire? A professional?" These were his words, but they sounded strange to Cleo's own ears. It was almost as if they held more weight than they might have previously.

Scarlet blushed and responded with a shy nod as she pulled herself into his side.

Take.

Again the thought echoed in his mind, lifting more of the fog. With a gentle movement, he ran his hand down her arm to where it rested in Vayu's grip. "I'd advise you unhand the lady."

I'd advise you unhand what's mine.

This time, the voice was clearer, and Cleo recognized it as his own, but there was malice there he wasn't used to. He fought to keep his fingers from flexing, not wanting to scare the lovely creature affixed to his side. She liked professionalism. So, he wouldn't inflict bodily harm unless Vayu refused to unhand her.

Amidst this, something still didn't add up though. Cleo couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like the answer danced just on the edge of the fog.

Oh no.

Aeris immediately understood what had happened, but that didn’t make things any better. She closed her eyes, tried to focus and resist the effects of the charm spell eating away at her control, but it was just... too...

Something crashed through the brush, and she opened her eyes on instinct. Damn it.

Her last coherent though as her eyes took in the tall, handsome figure bursting through the trees. He was holding something in his big, strong arms, but she barely noticed, too fixated on that striking, chiseled face. It was Komori, but she was seeing him like she had that first time she’d walked into her Vanguard training. The desire, the want, hit her like a freight train.

Or maybe that was just Komori knocking her into the bushes as he plowed past her, grinning as he held Nena in his arms. Nena gaped at the sight of Aeris’ legs sticking out of the bush before smirking to herself. Okay, so for an unmitigated disaster, it had some perks...

“Ah, now the way back to Chaldea would be...” Komori looked around. “Uh... I appear to be lost. Never fear, my sweet, darling Nena. I will return you safely to your bed in Chaldea. And then... maybe...” He raised his eyebrows seductively.

“Okay, not now,” Nena said, pushing his face away before she could start blushing. “I need to figure this out.”

Well, it looked the others were completely useless. Already, they were acting like lunatics. The pixie and the bicorn appeared to have avoided it, so it wasn’t totally hopeless.

“I’ve got it!” Bastion bellowed. He emerged from the trees, seemingly unaware that he was dragging around Rory clamped firmly to one leg. He dropped to one knee - either as a romantic gesture or because Rory had thrown off his balance - in front of Samael and beamed up at her.

“Monet, Monet,” he declared. “Hair as gold as a summer’s day!”

He paused, then realized he was out of words.

“I’ll keep working on it!” He sprang up - or tried - and hobbled back into hiding, dragging along Rory.

Okay, it was pretty hopeless.

“Berry,” Nena said, waving to the pixie. “Cherry, whatever. I’m going to need your help.”

“You’ll always have my help, Nena, my love,” Komori crooned in her ear.

“That’s nice... dear,” Nena sighed, pushing his face away. “Anyway, this charm is clearly a fairy’s. A powerful one.”

Humans couldn’t really tell the difference between one charm or another, but a demon as finely attuned to such magic as a succubus, she could pick it out. This was no demon’s charm, nor a pagan’s. It had the sweet, dreamy quality of fairy magic.

“I have a feeling someone brought us into the Fairy Woods,” Nena went on, shooting Komori a glare, which he returned with a flirtatious grin. “There has to be a fairy court somewhere in here. Do you think you can navigate us while the bicorn and I keep everyone rounded up?”

Mongo slinked past them, giggling to himself, then dived into the bush where Aeris was. A moment later, he hurtled through the air and went into the hollow of a tree, his tiny legs dangling out in mirror of Aeris’ own.

This... was going to be a long night.

“Come on, everyone!” Nena called, trying to get everyone’s attention, which proved difficult from up in Komori’s arms. “We’re going to... ah... Lover’s Lookout! It’s rumored that if you and your true love look at the moon together from there, you’ll be bound together forever. So let’s go!”

Cherry the Pixie | Woods

Cherry watched as everyone below were busy making fools of themselves. Zephyr somehow managed to trip and fall flat on his face and didn't get back up. She preferred to think it was deliberate since it stopped him from doing anything else. Just as she turned her gaze back to the source of the mist, Nena called out to her from below. It seemed she was immune to whatever effects the mist was having.

"Yes, I see where we should probably be going." She called back down to her, stutter surprisingly absent. This was an emergency situation and Nena was pretty much the only other sane person anyway, so most of her anxiety in talking to other humans didn't really apply here. Now that Nena mentioned high ranking fairies, she also had some idea who it might have been as well. "Follow me." She said as she whizzed off in the direction of the mist's source.

Forest
- Vayu -

Almost as an afterthought, through the haze that surrounded everything that didn’t directly involve Scarlet, he realized people were moving around him. He only gave the others a fleeting look and then brushed it off.

When his eyes returned to Scarlet, surprise colored his expression. She had pulled away and towards Cleo. Cleo was putting his arm around her. Around the one he had chosen to complete him.

Whilst he tried to focus on Cleo and his words, his eyes kept returning to Scarlet and her lovely features. Finally, Cleo’s words made it through the mist in his brain.

“Who are you to give me orders?” he replied.

Nihility ~ Crowd Control

Tyrian kept a close watch over Nihility who had been giggling away to herself as she eyed the trio. Calling it creepy would accurately describe the whole situation. Alas, it wasn't Nihility alone who was acting up. The entire party, excluding the Barkeep, Nena, and the Sprite, Cherry, seemed to be leveled headed enough to see through the magic spell that had bewitched the rest.

Thankfully enough, Tyrian's indomitable willpower of protecting his Mistress from all harm, it too kept his mind clear from inconvenient thoughts or desires.


He acknowledged Nena's plea to move the party away from their current location. The Bicorn started with lifting Nihility off her feet.

"Up we go mistress."

Tyrian arched down and slid his neck in-between Nihility's slender legs and lifted her up onto his back. Nihility didn't resist the Bicorn's advance, instead, she subconsciously grabbed onto his body to steady herself while not breaking away her gaze from her amusement, not even for a moment.


Tyrian trotted over to the group of the scrumptious two men and the Scarlet beauty. Nihility licked her lips as they got closer.

"Yes. Fight more over each-other. It only sweetens the pot." She whispered into the air as the purple hue in her eyes radiated with a bit more luster.


Reaching over to Cleo, Tyrian lightly brushed his horns over the Vanguard's arm to gain his attention. "As enchanting this may seem to all of you right now, this is not the most exciting spot to hash it out. If you wish to protect your friends, partners, or love interests, then follow the Fairy and the Succubus, for they know the perfect spot to hang at. It won't get any better than that place to passionately fight for your desires. If you truly love each-other, then break the spell and prove it with your own mettle."

Tyrian motioned towards the Fairy hovering ahead, trying to lead them towards their destination out of this misty thicket.


"Hey, you lot over there!" The Bicorn shouted towards the group nestled around the huge tree-trunk. "Follow us to the new grove and let the wonders of the place fill your mind with the words you seek to speak to the one who have cast a spell over your eyes."


Nihility curled and waved her body like a serpent entranced by a snake charmer's flute playing. "This all looks so tempting." She smacked her lips in delight. "I can literally taste the Mystical sweet summer love in the air."



When the group would eventually start heading out and the Bicorn cross over to the spot where Mongo struck into the tree, he would get him on board by informing him to get onto his back and ride along with Nihility.

"You there! Little creature. Get over here and seat yourself onto my back. Make sure the lady doesn't slide off." Tyrian would firmly order Mongo.

The Horned Beast didn't harbour any animosity against the little demon, but Tryian thought a little sternness in his voice was called for the current situation.

Samael

Samael's face blushed when the beautiful words were spoken to her, she never had being flattered like that before... and was her hair really like that. She followed after Bastion in an attempt to continue the poem, but stopped short in front of the hiding place so he was barely out of view.

This poem.... It was a work of art! So it had to be completed after all and they would complete it together! She needed to come up with her own verse as well, something that would speak to them both and bring them together!

"But nothing compares to your smile that makes even the stars fade away!" Monet commented with one hand on her chest and the other raised up towards the sky like out of some sort of Shakespearean play.

That's when Monet heard....

"It’s rumored that if you and your true love look at the moon together from there, you’ll be bound together forever. So let’s go!”

Perfect! That's the perfect piece to complete her poem! A scenic view that would form a new drawing for her work that would memorialize her and Bastion together for as long as the pages last! A Bastion of love that would last forever!

"Everyone calm down! You're ruining the mood on this wonderous day!" Monet commented with a stamp of her foot, as she trotted off towards Nena in a huff.

- Cleo -

"You're scaring the lady." Cleo responded to Vayu, gesturing to where the other man still held Scarlet's hand against his chest.

You're scaring my lady.

Cleo gritted his teeth against the sharp thought that pierced his mind like a knife. "If you wish to win her over, it's best to treat her as she likes to be treated. Isn't that right, Spitfire?" He grinned to the woman under his arm, and she plastered herself closer, giving another tug against Vayu's hold.

Words rattled over Cleo's senses, and he fought through the mist for them. The voice was familiar. Tyrian? Yes, that's the name Nihility had called him. Only two words settled into his senses though.

Fairy. Succubus.

He glanced in the direction of Nena and Cherry, who appeared to be struggling with moving the group along.

Mine.

Again, the word sank through his senses.

They're all mine.

He winced at the sensation of ants crawling beneath his hairline, circling the small horns hidden there.

Take what's mine. Make them want me.

Make them NEED me!

"Perhaps the demon is right though." Cleo continued, giving Vayu an appraising look. "We wouldn't want to inconvenience the others, and I'd hate for the lovely lady here to be caught in the middle of something."

"How about we both release her for now, and we can discuss this when we arrive at a more appropriate destination?"

He'd happily follow the fairy and succubus to wherever their hearts would be content.

-------------------------------------------

- Silky -

"I'm going to need your help."

Nena's words echoed in her mind as Silky gently pulled Aeris from the bushes and righted her on her own two feet, brushing away the leaves in the process. With a nod, she pulled the woman towards Nena, where she silently presented Aeris like a prize. The whole thing was vaguely reminiscent of a pet bringing their master something they'd found out in the woods.

In her mind, Silky was doing her best to help the Succubus though. If Nena wanted to move the group to somewhere else, Silky would help achieve it.

Forest
- Vayu -

Vayu’s eyes had returned to Scarlet. The soft blush of her cheeks. The bright eyes now cast downwards.

He reached out with his other hand to pull a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Unfortunately, Cleo was still there, disrupting his moment. Vayu squinted at Cleo.

“You’re ruining my moment,” he hissed at the other man. “I would never mistreat her. She is all I care about,” his eyes wandered back to Scarlet and his voice softened when he said those words. “And for that I’ll gladly inconvenience others.”

Vayu struggled to remember who had even said anything about another destination. His mind was still enveloped in a haze and the only clear thoughts he could grasp were when he looked at Scarlet. The others remained nothing more than a fleeting thought. He would never let go of Scarlet, keeping her hand firmly in his even as they started walking.

- Cleo -

Cleo started to respond to Vayu when he realized that the other man wasn't even looking at him anymore. His entire focus had shifted to the young woman clinging to Cleo's side.

Well, at least it didn't seem like this would come to blows right now. With a sigh, he simply moved in Nena's direction, pulling Scarlet (and by proxy Vayu) along with him. It hindered Cleo's movement, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away from the woman tucked under his arm.

Why?

Because she's mine.

No, that answer didn't make sense. Cleo shook his head as the haze began to descend once more over his senses.

NO! Must stay alert to protect what's mine.

He winced at the sharpness of that thought. Staying alert wasn't normally such a struggle. This was all wrong.

Why had Scarlet came up to him in the first place? Something wrong with Vayu? He glanced in their direction, focusing on the blank stares in their eyes. It was almost like they were in their own little world.

"Something is wrong with them..." He muttered to himself.

Something is wrong with YOU.

The voice in his head responded.

- Nena -

It would have been nice to simply leave Aeris in the bush, but that wasn't really an option in the end. The Silkie helped pull her out and brought her over to Nena, standing her there as though to show her off. Nena blinked, surprised. Had the Silkie managed to avoid the spell? That would be...

No, wait... There was something off about the glaze of her eyes. Great, another one. At least, she was trying to be helpful.

"Thanks," Nena said, trying hard to ignore the openly sultry stare Aeris was giving an oblivious Komori. "All right, let's keep moving out!"

The others fell into step behind her, some more willingly than others. What a mess. Mongo had extricated himself from the tree and made a dive for Aeris - missing and landing on the hem of Rory's robe. Not Bastion was dragging them both along, muttering poetry to himself as he stared longingly at Samael. She didn't want to think about that too much. Nihility seemed a few seconds away from pouncing on Vayu and eating him, but Vayu was too busy fighting over Scarlet with Cleo to notice.

Cleo... Nena narrowed her eyes. Not surprisingly, his response was very unusual, even compared to the rest. He'd either manage to break it soon... or end up the worst case of them all.

"I think I'm starting to lose feeling in my arms," Komori announced cheerfully, smiling at her affectionately all the while.

Nena flushed. "I-I'm not that heavy! And I never told you to carry me all this time."

Aeris tried to sidle up to Komori and slip an arm around his. "I'm sure I'd be much lighter for those big, strong arms of yours."

Komori shook her off impatiently, like swatting off a fly. "No, no, what kind of gentleman would I be if I let you strain those beautiful, delicate legs of yours walking all this way?"

Nena sighed and relaxed back into his arms as Aeris pouted behind them. She should be enjoying this immensely, but she couldn't somehow.

Because, in the end, it wasn't real. And never would.

Something whizzed out of the trees, breaking her from her thoughts. At first, she thought it was Cherry coming back leading ahead, but no - this was a different Pixie. A High Pixie. And more Pixies came whizzing through the trees, following.



"So, King Oberon's spell wasn't enough to dissuade you after all," the High Pixie said. "You humans are persistent. "This, however, is as far as you go."

Oberon?! That Oberon? Oh, wonderful. This just went from bad to worse. And now a bunch of upstart Pixies were going to try threatening her? After the day she'd been having?

She never liked to use her power, never liked to reveal her true form, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Hands off, hun," she snarled, pushing out of Komori's arms and taking to the air. Her skin had gone pale as black, leathery wings spread and a whip-like tail snapped through the air.

"Oberon wants us to leave? He can come say that to my face!" she snapped, pointing her finger at the High Pixie and firing off her Impure Reach curse.

The Pixies scattered to avoid the attack, and the High Pixie snapped her wings in anger. "Attack!"

As the Pixies dive-bombed the lucid members of the group, the others seemed blissfully unaware of the danger. Bastion, glowing with pride as he came up with the next lines of his poem, shouted, "I've got it!" and threw out his arms, smacking a Pixie out of the air and into a nearby tree.